“Shit. I was hoping you had some awesome advice that would magically make me feel better,” Aleck grumbled.
“Wish I did, man,” Mustang said. “Here’s the thing. I like Kenna. And the chemistry between the two of you is obviously electric. I have good vibes about her. I have a hunch the second you see each other, you’ll know if her feelings have changed about you…and yours about her.”
“I hope so. And for the record…thanks for taking out that tango before he could put a bullet in my brain. I don’t think Kenna would’ve been too happy about that,” Aleck said.
“Fuck you. You know you don’t have to thank me for that,” Mustang said. It had been right after they’d liberated their target and were slipping away from the prison where he’d been stashed. They’d been spotted, and Mustang had taken out a guard before he could get off a round—straight into Aleck’s skull—and alert the rest of security.
Aleck knew he didn’t have to thank his team leader, but now that he had a pretty damn good reason to get back to Hawaii in one piece, he felt the need. “You sound like Tex,” Aleck said with a grin.
Mustang burst out laughing. “God forbid. That old bastard never can take thanks, can he?”
“Nope.”
“Then you’re welcome,” Mustang said, still grinning.
“You know who else reminds me so much of Tex?” Aleck asked.
“Who?”
“Baker.”
“Shit yeah, he does,” Mustang agreed.
“You heard from him lately? After going to New York on Elodie’s behalf, has he said anything else about that?”
“Nope. As far as I know, the mob is content to stay in their corner of New York and Elodie’s still in the clear. Baker is hanging out at his place on the North Shore, surfing as much as he can as he tries to outrun his demons.”
“Do we know what happened with him to make him such a hermit?” Aleck asked. “Is there anything we can do to help?”
“I don’t know for sure, but I think it had to do with his SEAL team. Something happened, the team broke up, and he retired not too much longer afterward. And I think he likes being alone. But I also truly believe that helping others is what’s keeping him sane.”
“Midas said he thinks there’s a woman he’s interested in,” Aleck said.
Mustang whipped his head around to stare at Aleck. “Really?”
“Yeah. He doesn’t know her name or anything, but when he brought Lexie up to the North Shore to meet him, a woman pulled up in a VW van, and Midas said it was like a switch was flicked. He totally ignored him and Lexie and headed for her.”
“Interesting,” Mustang mused. “I hope it works out for him. I’ve never met anyone who needs someone in his corner as much as Baker does. He knows everyone, has some pretty scary contacts, yet he doesn’t seem to let anyone get too close. This may sound sappy as fuck, but now that I’ve got Elodie, I know firsthand how a good woman can be life-changing.”
Aleck couldn’t keep the amused grin off his face.
“Fuck you,” Mustang said with no heat. “Just wait. When things get even more serious with you and Kenna, you’ll understand.”
Aleck’s smile dimmed. “I already do,” he said softly.
“It’ll get worse. Wait until after you’ve been inside her,” Mustang said, without sounding lecherous. “There’s something about being with the woman you love that completely changes you. And in my case, having Elodie in danger seemed to flip my switch. I know it’s cliché to feel like she was a damsel in distress who I rescued, but…there it is. She’s mine. Body and soul.”
“Well, I can do without having to rescue Kenna. Hell, she’d probably just rescue herself. She’s pretty self-sufficient,” Aleck joked. “But I’m totally down with being inside her.”
Mustang nodded, then sighed and rested his head on the seat back.
“Thanks, Mustang,” Aleck said. “I’m just so impatient to get home and see her, and it occurred to me that she might not feel the same.”
“You’ll find out soon enough. I’ve found that sleeping makes the time go by faster,” he said as he closed his eyes.
“Wow, you aren’t being subtle at all,” Aleck told his friend.
Mustang grinned again, but didn’t open his eyes.
Deciding to follow his lead, Aleck did his best to get comfortable on the not-so-comfortable seat. He closed his eyes, and even though he hadn’t slept more than four hours in a row throughout the last six weeks, he couldn’t seem to make himself do so now. He was too keyed up. Too anxious. He prayed Kenna would be glad to hear he was back.
After way too many hours traveling, Aleck was finally in Honolulu. He and the rest of his team had debriefings they needed to take care of, but for the rest of the day, they were off duty. Tomorrow afternoon, they’d go to the base for just a few hours, and the next few days after, they’d be working eight-hour days until every single minute of their mission had been accounted for. Then they’d finally get a few days of R&R to decompress before starting their usual routines all over again.
As he walked through the parking lot to his car, Aleck had only one person on his mind. Kenna. He hadn’t called her yet—he was scared to. Him, a deadly Navy SEAL, was fucking terrified to call his girlfriend to let her know he was back safe and sound.
If she said she was too busy to see him, or that she hadn’t handled his deployment well and wasn’t interested in a relationship any longer, it would destroy him.
Looking at his watch, Aleck saw that it was three in the afternoon. She might be heading to work, anyway. He also wanted to look his best when he saw her. And right now, he was anything but. His beard was even longer than it had been in the picture he’d shown her, and he felt as if he had sand and dirt ground into every pore. He needed a long, hot shower, a shave, and something to eat that wasn’t a damn MRE.
His bright Jeep wasn’t hard to spot in the small parking lot reserved for military personal and civilians with access to the base, and simply seeing it made Aleck smile. He and the rest of the team had retrieved their keys and phones out of storage, and he clicked the fob to unlock the doors as he approached his Jeep.
Something caught his eye on the windshield. After stowing his duffle bag in the backseat, he reached for the piece of paper that had been stuck under his wiper. Annoyed that someone had come through the parking lot and left advertisements on the cars, Aleck unfolded the paper.
But this was no advertisement.
The paper was faded from the sun and had obviously been rained on several times, telling Aleck that it had been placed on his Jeep at least a few weeks ago. He read the smeared words—and every muscle in his body tensed.
You’re not as awesome as you think you are.
The first person who came to mind when he read the words was Kylo fucking Braun.
The man had gone too far this time.
Refolding the note, Aleck climbed behind the wheel. He put the note in his glove compartment and took a second to inhale a deep breath.
He assumed Braun had found out that he and his team had been deployed, and he certainly knew what kind of car Aleck drove, so he had taken the opportunity to place the note when he knew he wouldn’t be caught in the act. The man was a coward, and not worth a second of Aleck’s energy, but it still pissed him off to no end.